EP0711236B1 - Process for treating an object, in particular an aeroplane - Google Patents

Abstract

A process and arrangement are disclosed for cleaning the surface of aeroplanes (44). A large manipulator arranged on a truck (8) is moved towards the aeroplane (44) up to a predetermined position within its range of action and is parked in that position. A rotary brush-bearing head (18) is moved over the surface of the object by means of an articulated mast (13) arranged on the truck (10) and constituted of several extension arms (12, 12', 12', 12''', 14) that may swivel or slide with respect to each other at turning knuckles and/or prismatic joints and of a multiple joint (16) arranged at the last extension arm (14). In order to carry out a washing process in a reliable manner, without the risk of collisions even when the large manipulator is not accurately positioned in front of the aeroplane (44), the large manipulator is parked within a limited two-dimensional parking field (46) spaced apart from the aeroplane (44), while the joints (20 to 28) of the articulated mast (13) and/or the multiple joint (16) are controlled during the surface treatment according to a series of predetermined sets of joint co-ordinates associated to the actual position of the large manipulator within the parking field (46), and the brush-bearing head (18) is moved along a predetermined path of operation over the surface of the object.

Description

The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for processing an object, in particular an aircraft, according to the preambles of claims 1 and 19.

Such a method can be found in EP-A-0 341 134. Such an arrangement is known from the document DORNIER POST 2/93, June 30, 1993, pages 29-30, "Large Area of Application for Distance Camera".

No. 3,835,498 a device for cleaning aircraft or ships has become known. This device has a plurality of rotatable washing brushes which are arranged on a stationary crane and by means of which the surface of the aircraft can be cleaned. However, this device requires a rotatable platform for the aircraft so that it can be rotated in front of the washing crane. The washing brushes are either stationary or can be moved along defined directions. It is therefore necessary for the aircraft to be brought up to the washing device and for the aircraft and the washing device to be in a specific position relative to one another. Positioning errors are almost inevitable.

DE-A-2 701 823 describes a processing device with an articulated arm for cleaning large-volume bodies, in particular aircraft, which is moved along the large object using a laser guide beam control.

From DE-A-4035519 it is already known to equip a large manipulator with a remotely controllable brush head. The well-known large manipulator has one of several pivotable at its ends Booms composed of an articulated mast, the basic boom of which is rotatably mounted about a vertical axis on a bearing block arranged on a motor-driven chassis, and the final boom of which has a multi-joint which can be fitted with the brush head. From this document it is also known to equip the brush head with sensors which enable the brush head to be regulated in a controllable manner with respect to the surface to be processed in accordance with a sensor signal which can be tapped off during the cleaning process on the sensor. Here, too, the large manipulator must be positioned precisely in relation to the aircraft.

Based on US 3,835,498, the invention has for its object to further develop a method and an arrangement of the type mentioned in such a way that an at least almost complete compensation of positioning errors occurring in the installation of the processing device in front of the object to be processed is possible in a particularly simple manner is.

This object is achieved by the method according to claim 1 and the arrangement according to claim 19. Further developments result from the subclaims.

The measures according to the invention enable correction of positioning errors of the processing device relative to the object to be processed in a particularly advantageous manner. By the intended replacement of the sequence control related to the predefined reference point by a sequence control of a grid point of the storage field which is closest to the current position of the processing device, it is achieved in a particularly simple manner that the previously provided, complex and therefore complex on-line Monitoring of the processing unit can generally be dispensed with, in each case by one optimal reference point-related sequence control is replaced by a sequence control, which was advantageously generated offline and stored in a memory for a raster point of the storage field closest to the current position of the processing device.

An advantageous development of the invention provides that at least one raster point of the storage field is assigned a sequence control which can be varied as a function of the relative distance between the current position of the processing device and this raster point of the distance area. This measure also makes it possible to reduce the number of grid points required in the parking area, since this on-line correction of the positioning error of the processing device advantageously enables larger distances between the individual grid points, that is to say with a wider-meshed grid to work, the number of sequence controls to be created for a storage field being reduced in an advantageous manner. The proposed online correction of the position error also makes it possible to individually compensate for any tolerances or deviations of the object to be processed from its dimensions which are provided as standard and are predetermined for the creation of the sequence controls.

A further advantageous development of the invention provides that the sequence control of at least one raster point of the storage field is dependent on a part that depends only on the relative position of the raster point to the predefined reference point and on a part that depends essentially only on the relative distance between the current position of the processing device and this raster point. These measures are advantageous and In this way, the time that elapses between reaching the current position of the processing device and the start of the processing operation can be minimized, since the part of the sequence control that controls the processing operation, which is only dependent on the grid point, can already be carried out while that of the relative distance dependent movements of the machining process can be determined on-line.

According to a further advantageous development of the invention, it can therefore preferably be provided that the at least one processing unit of the processing device is brought into a position relative to the object to be processed by the off-line part of the control, in which, even in the worst case, the relative distance between Raster point and current position of the processing device no collision between processing unit and object can lead to damage or impairment of the object to be processed.

In a preferred exemplary embodiment, described in more detail below, the processing device is formed by a large manipulator arranged on a chassis, which is moved to a predetermined position relative to the large object and is parked there and in which a tool, which is preferably designed as a rotating brush head, by means of a plurality of rotating and / or thrust joints which can be pivoted or displaced with respect to one another and, if appropriate, a multi-joint which is arranged on the final boom and is arranged on the chassis and is arranged on the articulated mast.

The chassis is positioned within the limited two-dimensional parking space at a distance from the large object to be processed, and the joints of the articulated mast and / or the multi-joint are controlled in the course of the surface processing in accordance with a sequence of predetermined joint coordinate sets which correspond to the sequence control and which are assigned to the current position of the chassis, and the tool is moved along a predetermined machining path over the object surface.

A preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the parking area is subdivided by a limited two-dimensional distance grid, that for each grid point of the distance grid, a sequence of joint coordinate sets defining support points of a machining path of the tool is specified and stored as a joint coordinate file in a database of a data processing system, and that the position-related joint coordinate sets are calculated by interpolation from the joint coordinate files stored in the database in accordance with the current position of the chassis within the distance grid and saved as a work file before the surface processing is triggered using the joint coordinate sets read from the work file and, if appropriate, additional movement-related parameters. The joint coordinate sets read from the work file can be tracked in accordance with sensor signals, which are preferably queried at each base point of the machining path. For this purpose, for example, the friction or torsional resistance acting on the tool or the contact pressure can be measured and tapped as a sensor signal for tracking the joint coordinates. Correspondingly, other physical groups, for example the distance of the tool from the object or a variable inclination of the large manipulator resulting from deformations of the substructure, can also be measured and tapped as a sensor signal. Too To avoid undesired collisions when tracking the joint coordinates, it is expedient to check the tracked joint coordinate sets by comparing them with joint coordinates stored with adjacent grid points of the distance grid, taking into account predetermined tolerance limits with regard to freedom from collisions.

In a preferred arrangement for carrying out the method according to the invention, in which the large manipulator has an articulated mast consisting of a plurality of cantilevers which can be pivoted relative to one another on rotary joints by means of hydraulic or motor drive units and is mounted on a pivot bracket of a motor-driven chassis with its basic arm rotatable about a vertical axis and one on the final arm of the articulated mast or at the free end of a multi-joint arranged on the end boom, having several push and / or swivel joints and preferably designed as a rotating brush head, it is proposed to solve the above-mentioned problem that an optoelectronic distance image camera that can be aligned with the large object to be machined is arranged on the chassis and a computer-aided evaluation electronics acted upon with the distance image signals of the distance image camera as a starting and positioning aid and for calibration Solution of the large manipulator is provided relative to the large object to be processed. The distance camera is expediently rigid or movable in the vicinity of the pivot bracket, in particular pivotable about a vertical axis and / or tiltable on the large manipulator about at least one horizontal axis.

In order to establish an association between the coordinates determined by the distance image camera and the tool coordinates of the articulated mast, the Evaluation electronics according to the invention a program part for normalizing the joint coordinates of the articulated mast according to the tool coordinates measured directly and via the electron camera relative to a stationary, preferably cubic calibration body. With this normalization, position errors of the large robot are determined due to deformation of the boom, zero position offset of the angle and displacement transducers and twists in the substructure of the articulated boom and the chassis.

The evaluation electronics also expediently have a memory arrangement for storing distance image data of striking sections of the large object from the perspective of a predetermined storage field, and a software routine for comparing the large image manipulator positioned in front of the large mast in front of the large object by the distance image camera and the stored distance image data and coordinate-based assignment of the distance image camera Large manipulator position within the specified limited parking space. The parking space is advantageously subdivided by a two-dimensional distance grid, with each grid point of the distance grid being assigned an articulated coordinate file or a movement program within a database, in which a sequence of articulated coordinate sets of the articulated mast is stored along a processing path to be followed by the tool on the object surface.

To measure the joint coordinates, each joint of the articulated mast and possibly the multi-joint is assigned a coordinate pickup, preferably in the form of an angle or displacement pickup, at the output of which the relevant joint coordinate can be tapped.

The evaluation electronics advantageously have a program for calculating and storing a sequence of position-related joint coordinate sets intended for the machining process by interpolation from the stored joint coordinate sets in accordance with the deviation of the current position of the large manipulator from the closest grid points within the specified distance grid.

To carry out the machining process, the evaluation electronics have a computer-aided circuit part for controlling the drive units of the articulated boom joints in accordance with the deviation of the joint coordinates instantly tapped at the coordinate pickups from the associated values of the stored joint coordinate sets. In order to be able to compensate for tolerance deviations, the tool has a sensor which responds to the distance from the surface to be machined, its machining resistance or its depth of penetration into the surface to be machined, correction signals for tracking the drive units of the articulated boom joints being derivable from the sensor signal.

In order to be able to compensate for deformations of the base of the large manipulator during the washing process, at least one tilt jack is assigned to the swivel and / or tilt axes of the distance camera, from whose output signals correction signals for tracking the drive units can be derived.

Figur 1

eine Seitenansicht eines fahrbaren Großmanipulators mit einem Bürstenkopf zum Waschen von Flugzeugen in eingeklappter Stellung;

Figur 2a und 2b

zwei schaubildliche Darstellungen des Großmanipulators in Bearbeitungsposition vor einem Flugzeug;

Figur 3

eine Draufsicht auf das aufgerasterte Abstellfeld für den Großmanipulator nach Figur 2a und 2b.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to an exemplary embodiment shown schematically in the drawing. Show it:

Figure 1

a side view of a large mobile manipulator with a brush head for washing aircraft in the folded position;

Figure 2a and 2b

two diagrammatic representations of the large manipulator in the processing position in front of an aircraft;

Figure 3

a plan view of the rasterized parking area for the large manipulator according to Figures 2a and 2b.

The mobile large-scale manipulator 6 shown in FIG. 1 represents a preferred embodiment of a processing device 2 and essentially consists of an articulated mast 13 mounted on a pivot bracket 9 of a motor-driven chassis 8 with its base arm 12 rotatable about a vertical axis, one on the end arm 14 of the articulated mast 13 arranged multi-joint 16 and a brush head 18 detachably attached to the free end of the multi-joint as processing unit 4. The five arms 12, 12 ', 12'',12''' and 14 of the articulated mast 13 are at their mutually facing ends on joints 20, 22, 24, 26 connected to one another to be pivotable to a limited extent about horizontal axes. The pivoting takes place by means of hydraulic cylinders 27, which are arranged at suitable points between the arms. The basic boom 12 is pivotally mounted on a pivot bearing 9 on a horizontal bearing 28 by means of a hydraulic drive 30. This arrangement makes it possible to use the brush head 18 to traverse any surface contours within the plane spanned by the cantilevers. With the aid of the motor-adjustable multi-joint 16, it is also possible to move the brush head 18 in six degrees of freedom in relation to the end arm 14 by several axes of rotation and pushing.

An optoelectronic distance camera 40 in the form of a 3-D laser scanner is arranged in the area of the pivot bracket 9, which detects a three-dimensional space within the viewing window 42 and digitizes the distance from a measurement object 44. The distance image camera 40 is arranged at a sufficient height above the chassis 8 in order to be able to measure significant points of the measurement object 44 from the viewing window 42. The distance image camera 40 works with a laser beam which is passed through at a certain clock frequency over the opening angle of the viewing window 42. The evaluation of the distance signals, which result from a time difference measurement, shows whether and at what distance a reflecting surface is present.

In order to coordinate the distance measurement with the distance image camera 40 and the deflection of the articulated mast 13 taking into account different articulated mast configurations, a normalization of the manipulator with respect to the distance image camera 40 is necessary. During normalization, the zero positions of the manipulator axes 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 are determined. These zero positions are determined via a closed kinematic chain, which uses a measuring cube to relate the measurement results of the distance image camera to the deflections of the articulated mast. The measuring cube is oriented in such a way that a corner is aimed at by the distance image camera 40 and this corner is used as a reference point for the positioning of the end arm 14 of the articulated mast 13. The angular positions of the joints are determined in a plurality of articulated mast configurations. This results in parameters for a system of equations, on the basis of which the coordinate transformation between the electron image camera 40 and the manipulator 13 can be determined. With these measurements, the zero positions of the individual joints are determined, taking into account the deformations in the individual cantilevers (12, 12 ', 12'',12''', 14) that cannot be precisely defined from the start. The measurements are carried out at different distances of the measuring cube by the distance image camera 40 in order to take into account the different constellations of the manipulator taking into account the zero position errors and the deformations and the orientation of the distance image camera 40 with respect to the manipulator system.

In order to bring the large manipulator 6 into a washing position in front of the aircraft 44, this must be parked in a defined manner in the course of the take-off process, so that all surface points to be traveled through in a washing program lie within the range of the articulated mast 13 with the washing brush 18. In order to avoid unnecessary complications when starting and positioning the large manipulator, a possibly virtual parking area 46 with a diameter of approximately 4 m is defined in each washing position, which in turn is divided into a rectangular grid with a grid spacing between the individual grid points 48 and 40 cm ( Figure 3). The grid spacing need not be more precise than the accuracy of the object to be measured. It should be borne in mind that in the case of airplanes, dimensional differences of 50 cm and more can result from tolerances between the individual specimens of a certain type and from different refueling, loading and temperature conditions. Instead of a circular storage field 46, fields are also conceivable that have the shape of a polygon, in particular a rectangle or a square. It is readily apparent to the person skilled in the art that the geometric shape of the storage field 46 can be freely selected within wide limits depending on the configuration, and that the circular configuration described here has only an exemplary character and the method described is in no way limited to this. Furthermore, this limits in FIG. 3 The equidistant grid shown does not affect the generality of the following explanations, since these are valid in a corresponding manner for a non-equidistant grid and even for a chaotically distributed set of grid points.

The image data generated by the distance image camera 40 are evaluated in an evaluation circuit and an on-board computer. In a storage medium of the on-board computer, either the complete aircraft 44 or a significant section of the aircraft 44 relating to the viewing window 42 of the distance image camera 40 is stored as a reference image for each aircraft type to be processed and for each parking area 46 to be approached. As a starting aid, a distance image of the aircraft section in question is continuously generated by the distance image camera 40 when the parking area 46 is started and compared with the stored reference image. From this, direction and position data can be derived, which give the driver instructions for the direction of travel and the distance. In principle, the resulting deviation signals can also be directly converted into driving and steering signals for the chassis 8. The aim of the traction help is to position the large manipulator 6 on the parking area 46 within the reach of the aircraft 44 and to orient it with regard to the heading angle. After reaching the parking area 46, the chassis 8 is supported on the ground by swiveling and lowering the support legs 50 and thereby positioned relative to the aircraft 44.

Then the measurement of the large manipulator 6, ie the determination of the position within the grid field 46 and the orientation relative to the aircraft 44, can be carried out. This is also done with the aid of the distance image camera 40 by comparison with a stored reference pattern. Because the distance camera 40 is arranged on the articulated mast 13, it must be ensured that its position is taken into account when determining the course angle. After the measurement has been carried out, the inclination sensors are detected on the distance image camera 40 and set to zero. When the articulated mast 13 moves, the relative angle due to the inclination of the standing surface is then taken into account in the movement program.

The grid field 46 defines fictitious locations 1 to 109 (FIG. 3), for each of which a complete washing program created offline (ie on an external computer) is stored. A large number of data records which define the angular positions of each joint are stored as wash program data (joint coordinate sets). Several sets of joint coordinates of this type form a machining path 52 along the aircraft surface, which define the geometric location of the brush head 18 during the washing process. The washing program is checked on the external computer in such a way that there can be no collision with object 1 and with any existing docks and hall parts. The distance between the individual coordinate bases on the aircraft surface is on average 30 cm. During the measurement, the exact position of the distance image camera 40 with respect to the aircraft 44 is determined, and thus the exact location within the grid field 46. From the nearest grid point 11a, the joint coordinates are then converted to the current position P by interpolation. This data is stored in a file in the working memory of the manipulator control as the current washing program before the washing program is triggered via the manipulator control. The collision space of the individual joints is also determined by the four neighboring points 48 within the grid field 46 and the permitted tolerances of, for example, +/- 50 cm. These four savings points, implemented in Joint coordinates, i.e. describe the space in which the ends of the articulated boom can move.

The method provides that the program specified for reference point A is replaced by a program which has been stored for raster point 11a closest to current position P. In this method, the program closest to the current position P is used, whereby the advantage is achieved that an on-line adaptation of the program to the still existing deviation is not necessary, whereby a significant reduction in the set-up time is achieved.

The variant of the method described above allows a positioning error to be corrected when the large manipulator 6 is set up relative to the object 1 to be processed, except for a residual position error which is less than or equal to half the distance between two diagonally opposite raster points 11 of the storage field 46. Such accuracy is sufficient for a variety of applications. It goes without saying here that this residual position error can be reduced even further by using a more closely meshed grid, that is to say a grid with a reduced distance between two grid points 11.

Once these preparations have been made, the actual washing process can begin. For this purpose, the articulated mast is first unfolded using a folding program. By successively calling up the joint coordinates from the work file, target values are obtained which are approached by the washing brush, the actual and target value comparison being carried out on each individual joint by means of assigned coordinate transmitters. Because of deformations of the aircraft 44 and the substructure, inaccuracies in the method and dynamic errors in the Fine compensation must be carried out on the device. In order to achieve the required washing result, the manipulator 6 must be moved with an accuracy of approximately 10 mm with regard to the prescribed penetration depth of the washing brush into the surface. This can only be achieved by an additional sensor system which compensates for the errors mentioned by measuring the contact pressure and by delivering the auxiliary axes of the multi-joint 16. The auxiliary axes are pivot axes that compensate for orientation errors of the brush head 18.

In principle, it is possible to have the distance image camera 40 run during a washing program and to use it for collision monitoring. The distance image camera 40 can measure individual joints and the aircraft 44 and control them for collisions. This could be important if, for example, a transducer fails at one of the joints and supplies incorrect measured values that are not recognized by the operator and the computer.

As an alternative or in addition to this, it can be provided that position and dimension tolerances as well as deformation tolerances of the aircraft 44 and / or tolerances of the large manipulator 6 are compensated for. As an example of such tolerances of the aircraft 44, the dimensional deviations that also occur in aircraft of the same series and of the same type from the standard dimensions on which the sequence control is based, which may be slightly different from the air line to the air line, for example in the arrangement of antennas, are exemplary , Sensors, engines, fairings and flaps etc., as well as the deformation tolerances which are caused by different loading conditions of the aircraft 44 and environmental influences, for example temperature, are mentioned. This Grid-point-specific programs are adapted online to these framework conditions.

In summary, the following can be stated: The invention relates to a method and an arrangement, in particular for the surface cleaning of aircraft 44, in which a large manipulator 6 arranged on a chassis 8 is moved into a predetermined position within the range of the aircraft 44 and is parked there and in which a rotating brush head 18 by means of a multi-joint 16 consisting of a plurality of arms 12, 12 ′, 12 ″, 12 ″, 14 that can be pivoted or displaced relative to one another on rotary and / or sliding joints, and a multi-joint 16 arranged on the end arm 14 on the chassis 8 arranged articulated mast 13 is moved over the object surface. In order to ensure a reliable and collision-free washing process even when the large manipulator 6 is positioned in front of the aircraft 44 in an inaccurate manner, the large manipulator 6 is stationed within a limited two-dimensional, possibly virtual, parking area 46 at a distance from the aircraft 44, while the joints 20 to 28 of the articulated mast 13 and / or the multi-joint 16 can be controlled in the course of the surface machining in accordance with the measurement of a sequence of joint coordinate sets assigned to the current position of the large manipulator 6 within the storage field 46 and the brush head 18 is moved along a predetermined machining path over the object surface.

Claims (30)

1. A process for the treatment, in particular for the surface cleaning of an object (1), in particular an airplane (44), a ship, a building, etc., by means of a treating device (2) having at least one treating unit (4), in which the treating device (2) is moved into a parking field (46) at a predetermined reference point (A) and is positioned at a distance from the object (1), whereby the predefined reference point (A) of the parking field (46) has a fixed position reference to at least one reference point of the object, in which the treatment operation to be carried out on the object (1) is carried out at least partially by means of an operating-sequence control for the treating unit (4) of the treating device (2), which treating unit enters into active contact with the object (1), whereby the spacial movements of the at least one treating unit (4), which movements are controlled by the operating-sequence control, are guided with respect to the predefined point (A), characterized in that in the parking field (46) of the treating device (2) there is a specific number of grid points (11, 11a) defining grid fields, that for each grid point (11, 11a) there is set up or will be set up an operating-sequence control for the at least one treating unit (4) of the treating device (2), which treating unit enters into active contact with the object (1) to be treated, whereby the spacial movement of the at least one treating unit (4), which movement is controlled by this operating-sequence control of the grid point (11a), is guided with respect to this grid point (11a) of the parking field (46), that the actual position (P) of the treating device (2) is determined with reference to the parking field (46), that from the number of grid points associated with the parking field (46) the grid point (11a) with the least distance from the actual position (P) of the treating device (2) is determined, and that for carrying out the treatment operation for controlling the at least one treating unit (4) the operating-sequence control associated with the grid point (11a) is used, or that from this grid point (11a) through interpolation an operating-sequence control for the actual position (P) is calculated and stored in the storage of the manipulator control as an actual working program, and is then used.
2. The process according to Claim 1, characterized in that the operating-sequence control associated with the reference point (A) and the ones associated with the grid points (11a) are created off-line.
3. The process according to Claim 1 or 2 characterized in that operating-sequence controls associated with the predefined reference point (A) and the grid points (11a) have as the characteristic parameter the spacial position difference between the fixed reference point of the object (1) and the fixed grid points (11a).
4. The process according to one of the Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the grid points (11a) are arranged in an equi-distant grid.
5. The process according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the parking field (46) is chosen as a circle with the radius R or, preferably, as a regular polygon around the predefined reference point (A).
6. The process according to one of the Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least one operating-sequence control associated with a grid point (11a) of the parking field (46) uses as a further characteristic parameter:

   a) the relative position between the grid point (11a), which lies the closest to the actual position (P) of the treating device (2), and the actual position (P) of the treating device (2); or

   b) deviations of the object (1) from standard dimensions used as the basis for determining the operating-sequence control; or

   c) the measuring signals of a monitoring device of the at least one treating unit (4).
7. The process according to one of the Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that at least one operating-sequence control is structured in such a manner that it has a base part depending only on the position of the grid point (11a) associated with said operating-sequence control and a correction/adaption part depending on the distance of the actual position (P) of the treating device (2) from said grid point (11a) and/or additional adaption parameters.
8. The process according to one of the Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the movements of the at least one treating unit (4) of the treating device (2), which movements are controlled by only the grid-point-dependent part of the operating-sequence control, are carried out, essentially while the on-line corrections of the operating-sequence control, which on-line corrections are needed for the adaption of the operating-sequence control, are determined.
9. The process according to one of the Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that for determining the actual position (P) of the treating device (2) a distance image of a specified section of the object (1) to be treated is taken with an opto-electronic distance camera (40) and is compared with a reference image of this section.
10. The process according to Claim 9, characterized in that deviations resulting therefrom are converted into preferably optically and/or acoustically indicatable steering and driving signals outside of the parking field (46) or into positioned-determining locating signals within the parking field (46).
11. The process according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in a treating device (2) consisting of several arms (12, 12', 12'', 12''', 14) pivotal or movable on pivot joints (20, 22, 24, 26, 28) and/or thrust joints, and consisting of an articulated mast (13) arranged on an undercarriage (8), the joints (20 to 28) of the articulated mast (13) and/or of the multiple joint (16) are controlled during the course of the treatment in accordance with a sequence of specified joint-coordinate sets by an operating-sequence control, which sequence is associated with the actual position of the treating device (2) within the parking field (46).
12. The process according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the treating unit (4) is moved along a specified treatment path (52) over the surface of the object.
13. The process according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the position-referenced operating-sequence control is calculated through interpolation from the operating-sequence control stored in a data bank in accordance with the actual position (P) of the treating device (2) within the parking field (46) and is stored in a stored data file prior to the treatment using operating-sequence control read from the stored data file and possibly additional movement-referenced parameters.
14. The process according to Claim 13, characterized in that the operating-sequence control read from the stored data file follow in accordance with sensor signals preferably extracted at every support point of the treatment path.
15. The process according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the frictional resistance, torsional resistance or the contact pressure read at the treating unit (4) is measured and outputted as a sensor signal.
16. The process according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the distance of the treating unit (4) from the object (1) is measured without contact and is outputted as a sensor signal.
17. The process according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inclination of the treating device (2) relative to a substructure or relative to the object (1) is measured and is outputted as a sensor signal.
18. The process according to one of the Claims 14 to 17, characterized in that the following operating-sequence control are monitored with respect to freedom from collision through a comparison with operating-sequence control stored with respect to adjacent grid points (11a) taking into consideration specified tolerance limits.
19. An arrangement for the treatment, in particular for the surface cleaning of objects (1), like airplanes (44), ship or buildings, comprising a treating device (2) having at least one treating unit (4), comprising an opto-electronic distance camera (40) arranged on the treating device (2) and alignable with respect to the object (1) to be treated, and a calculator-supported evaluating electronic receiving the distance-image signals of the distance camera (40), characterized in that the evaluating electronics has a storage arrangement for storing of distance-image data of the object (1) from the view of several grid points of a specified parking field (46), and a software routine for comparing the distance-image data taken by the distance-image camera (40) with the treating device (2) being positioned in front of the object (1) within reach of an articulated mast (13) with the stored distance-image data, and for the coordinate-like determining of the position (P) of the treating device (2) within the specified parking field (46) and for the association of the position (P) with the closest grid point (11a).
20. The arrangement according to Claim 19, characterized in that the treating device (2) has several arms (12, 12', 12'', 12''', 14) pivotal with respect to one another on pivot joints (20, 22, 24, 26, 28) by means of hydraulic or motorized driving systems (30), an articulated mast (13) rotatably supported by a base arm (12) about a vertical axis on a pivot-bearing block (9) of the motor-driven undercarriage (8), and has the treating unit (4), preferably designed as a rotating brush head (18) arranged on the last arm (14) of the articulated mast (13) or on the free end of a multiple joint (16) arranged on the last arm (14), has several thrust and/or pivot joints.
21. The arrangement according to Claim 19 or 20, characterized in that the distance camera (40) is arranged near the pivot-bearing block (9) rigidly or movably, in particular pivotally about a vertical axis and/or inclinable about at least one horizontal axis on the treating device (2).
22. The arrangement according to one of the Claims 20 or 21, characterized in that with each joint (20 to 28) of the articulated mast (13) and, if necessary, of the multiple joint (15) is associated a coordinate receiver, preferably in the form of an angle or path receiver, at the output of which a value corresponding with the respective joint coordinate can be electrically read.
23. The arrangement according to Claim 22, characterized in that the evaluating electronics has a calculator-supported circuit for normalizing the joint coordinates in accordance with the tool coordinates measured directly and through the distance camera (40) relative to a stationary, preferably cubic calibration member.
24. The arrangement according to one of the Claims 19 to 23, characterized in that the parking field (46) is divided by a two-dimensional grid field (46), that with each grid point (11) within the grid field (46) is associated an operating-sequence control, a joint-coordinate data file or a moving program within a data bank, in which is stored a series of individual movements or joint-coordinate sets of the articulated mast (13) along an operating path to be travelled by the treating unit (4) on the surface of the object.
25. The arrangement according to Claim 24, characterized in that the evaluating electronics has a software routine for calculating and storing a series of operating-sequence controls or joint-coordinate sets designated for the treatment operation through interpolation from the stored operating-sequence controls or joint-coordinate sets in accordance with the deviation of the actual position (P) of the treating device (2) from the adjacent grid points (11a) within the specified grid field (46).
26. The arrangement according to Claim 24 or 25, characterized in that the evaluating electronics has a calculator-supported circuit for controlling the drive systems (30) of the articulated-mast joints (20 to 28) in accordance with the deviation of the operating-sequence controls or joint coordinates read at the coordinate receivers from the associated values of the stored operating-sequence controls or joint-coordinate sets.
27. The arrangement according to one of the Claims 24 to 26, characterized in that the treating unit (4) has a sensor, which reacts to the distance from the surface to be treated, to its operating resistance or to its depth of penetration into the surface to be treated, and that from the output signal of the sensor correcting signals can be derived to have the driving systems of the articulated-mast joints follow.
28. The arrangement according to one of the Claims 24 to 27, characterized in that the at least one inclination indicator reacting preferably to deformations in the substructure of the treating device (2) is associated with the pivot and/or inclination axes of the distance camera (40), from the output signals of the inclination indicator there can be derived correcting signals to have the driving systems of the articulated-mast joints follow.
29. The arrangement according to one of the Claims 20 to 28, characterized in that the treating device (2) or the arm (12) has at least one redundant degree of freedom.
30. The arrangement according to one of the Claims 19 to 29, characterized in that the parking field (46) is of a virtual nature.

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